You Broke my Heart, Aerith Gainsborough
by Cloud Cetra
Summary: Today is Cloud and Aerith's five year wedding anniversary. Cloud is taking Aerith to the Gold Saucer, the restaurant where he proposed to her five years prior. But when an ex-boyfriend from Aerith's past shows up. Why is he here though? Is he here to congratulate her? Or is he here for a different reason?
1. Blast from the Past

Today was Cloud and Aerith's five year anniversary since they first got married on December 2nd. To celebrate their anniversary, Cloud was taking her to the Gold Saucer, the restaurant Aerith always liked to go to every single time that they were dating each other.

Cloud was preparing to get ready for the aniversary, he was going to wear the same outfit that he wore when he first proposed to her at the Gold Saucer three months prior to when they got married. His outfit was nothing special really, just black loafers, black dress socks, black dress slacks, a black belt with a gold buckle, a white dress shirt that shined white as snow, a black tie, a black suit vest, a black dress jacket, and to top it off he put a white handkerchief in the outside pocket of the jacket. Cloud was wondering what Aerith was going to be wearing for their anniversary.

Cloud waited for Aerith downstairs, looking at his watch, it was four o'clock. "Hurry honey! Or we're going to miss our reservation!" he yelled from the bottom of the stairs as he made his way towards the front door. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" she replied, as she began to make her way down the stairs. Cloud saw two pink high heels, and as he looked up at her in awe, Aerith smiled at Cloud as she began to blush.

Now, when you looked at Aerith, you would have thought that their was a different person standing in front of Cloud. This time Aerith wasn't wearing a pink dress, instead she was wearing a beautiful white dress. The white dress touched the ground, a pink bow was wrapped around Aerith's waist. Her hair, however, was magnificent. This time, she had it tied in two snake rolls on both sides of her head, they were both tied in place by two pink ribbons. As she got to the bottom of the stairs.

Aerith began to blush some more. "Well, how do I look?" she asked Cloud as she twirled in the dress. The white skirt of the dress began to move outwards as she spins round and round in it and does a curtsy. "As beautiful as the day we first met." Cloud replied. Aerith began to blush some more as she wrapped her arm around Cloud's arm. "Shall we make our departure?" Cloud asked Aerith Politely. Aerith smiled and nodded. "Lets do." She replied. They both got into his new car that he received as as gift from Tseng, and the two drove off for the Gold Saucer.

It was five o'clock when they finally arrived at the Gold Saucer. Cloud got out of the car, and made his way to the passenger side door to open the door for Aerith. He opened the door, Aerith looked up at him, and smiled. "Why thank you, dear." she replied. As they made their way to the front door, Cloud stopped, it felt liked he and Aerith were being followed. Aerith saw that something wrong with him. "Something the matter, dear?" she asked. "It feels like, we're being followed." he replied. Aerith didn't want him to worry about it, so she tried to cheer him up with what she had planned when they got back to the house. "Don't let it spoil our night! Besides, I have a surprise for you when we get home!" she said to him with delight. "Okay then, I won't dwell on it anymore, it's out of my head now." he replied. The two went inside the Gold Saucer, but outside the Gold Saucer, Cloud's suspicion was right. A car pulled up to the front door of the restaurant with the passenger window rolled down, the driver of the car watched them enter, and the car drove off.

Cloud and Aerith walked up to the receptionist, who looked up and smiled at two people he began to know by name. "Cloud and Aerith! So good to see you! How long has it been now? Wait! Let me guess! Five years?" he ask as he pointed a finger at the two. "Correct, Charlie. You remembered." Cloud replied. Charlie smiled as he replied. "This way please." He took the two to their favorite booth, he didn't even have to write down what they were going to have. so he went back to the reception area.

Their food arrived and they began to eat the same food that they ate five years ago. Cloud and Aerith laughed and talked with each other until they both almost started to cry, but they didn't drop a single tear. Cloud put his hand on Aerith's hand, she began to blush just as Charlie walks over to the two. "How was the dinner?" he asked them. "Delicious again, Charlie." Cloud replied as Charlie smiled. "Well, I'm proud to say that tonight's dinner is on the house!" he replied. "Why, thank you, Charlie." Cloud replied. "Yes, thank you." Aerith added. "Don't mention it." he replied. The two got up to leave, and they got into Cloud's car, and they drove off and made the trip back to Midgar.

It was about seven o'clock, when the finally arrived at the house, Aerith grabbed Cloud's hand. "Just wait and see what I have for you, Cloud!" she said with excitement. "What is is?" Cloud asked with curiosity. "I can't tell you! That's why they call it a SURPRISE, dear." she replied. As they made their way towards the front door, the car from the Gold Saucer pulled in front of Cloud and Aerith's house. A man got out of the car and stopped in front of the walkway leading up to the house.

"Hello Aerith. It's been a long time. Miss me?" asked the man. Aerith turned around, her eyes opened wide as she saw who it was. It was Dexter, her ex-boyfriend from high school. "Dexter?! I haven't seen you since how long has it been? Ten years about?" she asked him. "Yeah, I see you're doing well for yourself, Aeirth." he replied as he looked at the house, and at Cloud and Aerith, who both had wedding bands on their ring fingers. "I see you're married now?" he replied grumpily, he turned to Cloud. "So you must be her husband?" he asked Cloud.

"Yeah. I'm her husband, my name's Cloud Strife." Cloud replied. "Well, hello Cloud." Dexter replied. "You probably didn't know this, but I proposed to Aerith ten years ago, it was during our senior year of high school, but she turned me down." he added. Aerith sighed. "Dexter, the reason I turned down your proposal was that I wanted to focus on college first." Aerith replied. "Really?! Was that really the reason?! Do you know how hard you rejection hit me?! I didn't sleep for five days!" he yelled at her. "Dexter, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! But I made a commitment to college. I would've been more than happier to marry you after I graduated from college, but they said that you moved away before I graduated from the university." she replied back.

"Well, I bet you didn't expect me showing up ten years later?! Didn't ya!" Dexter snarled at her. "For years, I've planned my revenge against you, Aerith!" he added. Aerith looked at him, wondering what he had planned. "What are you getting at, Dexter?" she asked him. Dexter grinned. "What I'm getting at is...something I've been planning for ten years." he replied. "You broke my heart, Aerith. Now, I'll break yours." Dexter got back into his car and started the engine, rolling down his window and pulled a gun out of the glove box, then he shot Cloud three times in the stomach. "CLOUD!" Aerith yelled as Cloud's body slumped across the front door of the house, Dexter sped off.

"CLOUD! CLOUD! STAY WITH ME CLOUD!" Aerith yelled at him. "Don't worry, Aerith! I...I'll be fine." Cloud replied. NO, CLOUD! NO! DON'T DIE ON ME DAMN IT!" she yelled as Cloud began to fade away. Tifa came running from the 7th Heaven Bar and Restaraunt. "Aerith?! What happened?! I heard gunshots from the restaurant!" Tifa asked. She looked at Cloud, who had three bullets wounds in his stomach, replied. "Oh my god! Cloud who did this to you?!" Tifa asked. "It...it was Dexter...he did this." Aerith replied. Tifa remembered her talking about him, and how he proposed to her, but she turned him down. "Wait? Dexter?! You're ex boyfriend?" Tifa replied. Aerith nodded as tears ran down her face as Tifa began to comfort her.

"Tifa..." Cloud replied. "Yyy...yes Cloud?" Tifa replied. "I...I don't think I'm going to make it... If I don't make it...please help Aerith take care of our kids for me." Tifa nodded as she began to cry some more. "Aerith...make sure Tseng raises our kids right, they're going to need a good father figure...like him." Cloud replied as his heart rate began to drop rapidly. "Don't say that, Cloud you're going to be fine! You're going to make it!" Aerith yelled. "Tifa! Go inside now, and call Shinra General Hospital now, we have them on speed dial!" Aerith ordered. Tifa nodded and she picked up the phone and pressed the number for Shinra General Hospital.

"Shinra General Hospital. How may we help you this evening?" answered the head nurse. "My name is Tifa Lochart, a man has been shot and we need an ambulance right away." Tifa replied. "What condition is the man in, ma'am?" the nurse replied. "He's in critical condition! He might not make it! Please hurry!" Tifa replied. "All right ma'am listen. What I need you to do is try to control the bleeding. We have an ambulance on its way!" the nurse replied. Please hurry!" Tifa replied as she hung up the phone. Tifa and Aerith managed to stop the bleeding. Aerith put her hands up to her face as she took a seat on the front steps, her white dress covered in blood from Cloud's wounds. Tifa sat down next to her and wrapped here hands around her as she began to rock Aerith back and forth.

Aerith and Tifa could hear the sirens of the ambulance, as it pulled up in front of her and Tifa. Three EMT's got out and got to work on Cloud. "Quickly, You! Get this man on the stretcher!" said the head EMT. "Yes sir!" replied one of the EMT's." the head EMT turned to the other EMT. "Get that IV started now!" he replied. The EMT starting the IV looked at Cloud, who was in really bad shape, replied. "Sir! He looks pretty bad! I don't think he's gonna make it! Sir!" he replied. "Well, try! Damn it! WE ARE NOT GIVING UP!" he barked. So the EMT started the IV and hooked it up to a heartbeat monitor. The head EMT saw that Cloud was fading. "We have no time to waste! Let's get going! You two! Load him up now!" he barked! "Yes SIR!" The two EMT's replied as they loaded Cloud into the ambulance.

Aerith ran into the house and she put on a pink jacket and ran to the ambulance. "Wait! I'm coming along too!" Aerith said to the EMT. "Okay then, get it!" the head EMT replied to her. So Aerith got in the ambulance. "Step on it driver! Make haste to Shinra General Hospital! STAT!" said the head EMT. The driver nodded and sped off towards Shinra General Hospital.


	2. Please Don't take My Cloud

Aerith Gainsborough was in mourning, she was in sorrowful. First she lost Zack Fair a long time ago, now she might loose another boyfriend. "Why Dexter? Why did you do this, Dexter?" Aerith kept repeating to herself in the ambulance, as they finally arrived at Shinra General Hospital. The head EMT got out. "Hurry! We need to get this man prepped for surgery, STAT!" They rushed Cloud through to the front door of the hospital, and took Cloud into a room and prepared him for surgery. Aerith took a seat in a chair in the waiting room, her hands back over her eyes.

Aerith then saw the head nurse and some surgeons pushing Cloud on a hospital gurney, Cloud was now in a hospital gown, an oxygen mask covered his mouth, Aerith gasped as she began to run towards him. "We need to get this man into surgery now or he's not going to make it!" said one of the surgeons. "Cloud! It's me, Aerith! Your wife! I'm right here!" she yelled as they push him through the doors into the ER. Aerith tried to enter with him, but the head nurse held her back.

"Ma'am! This is a hospital staff only area! I must order you to take a seat in the waiting room, a doctor will come to get you when we're done with surgery." she said to Aerith. "B...but you don't understand! Th...That's my..." Aerith tried to explain to the head nurse as they argued back and forth. "Ma'am! Ma'am! Ma'am! Listen to me. I know that he's your husband...and I know that you want to be near him, but the surgeons need to do their job. I promise...we will try our best to save him. The best thing you can do, is wait here and wait patiently for the doctor to come for you." she replied. Aerith began to cry. "P...Please, try to save my husband, he's the only person I have left who truly loves me." she replied as the head nurse handed her a handkerchief and Aerith blew her nose, the head nurse smiled and went through the doors that lend into the ER.

Aerith took a seat back in the waiting room, it was ten o'clock when they took Cloud into the ER. Eleven o'clock...one hour had passed...nothing. Twelve o'clock...two hours had passed...still nothing. Aerith fell asleep at around one o'clock the next morning, three hours had passed...still the doctor hadn't yet arrived to get her. It was around two-thirty in the morning when the doctor came out of the doors leading to the ICU. Aerith was laying on four waiting room chairs...asleep. The doctor walked over and started to rock her back and forth.

"Aerith? Aerith?" he said to her. Aerith opened up her eyes, sat up, stretched her arms high to the sky, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawned, and stared up at the doctor. She gasped as she got up, worrying if Cloud made it. "Doc! Any new?! Cloud?! Is he all right?!" she asked as she started breath very heavily. "Calm down, Aerith." he replied to Aerith. "Luckily, he made it through surgery without any major problems. And we managed to get the bullets out. However, there was a minor problem." Aerith put a hand up to her mouth and began to start crying as she took a seat back down in one of the chairs in the waiting room. "The problem was that he lost about seventy-five percent of his blood. We did give him a blood transfusion, but he's in a coma right now. He probably won't wake up from the coma." the doctor added.

Aerith began to weep even more, hearing the doctor say that Cloud might make it. "Do you want to say goodbye to him first?" he asked her. Aerith got up as she wiped some tears away from her eyes as she stood up and nodded towards the doctor. "Yes, I would, take me too my husband." she replied. The doctor looked at Aerith as they made their way through the doors of the ICU, the doctor didn't say a word the whole way to Cloud's room. The two finally arrived at a room labeled "Cloud S.". The doctor turned to Aerith. "I'll stay out here while you have some alone time with your husband." he said to her. "Thank you." Aerith replied as she made her way to the entrance to Cloud's room, but stopped as she put a hand to her face and shut her eyes.

Aerith walked in, the doctor shut the door behind her to give them some privacy. Aerith pulled up a chair that was inside the room, she put the chair next to Cloud's bed. Grabbing one of Cloud's she put it close to her. "Hi Cloud, it's me Aerith, your wife." Aerith said trying to keep herself from crying. "Listen...um...they say that you might not going to make it...so, I wanted to come here and say my final goodbyes." she said as she began to tear up again. "Boy, I never thought it would end like this, Cloud. First Zack Fair, and now you, Cloud Strife. I don't think I'll be able to make it through this without you, Cloud." She paused as she let go of Cloud's hand as she finished up talk to Cloud.

"I don't think I'll ever find anyone who was so loving to me, someone who was there for me in times of hardship, someone who tended to my injuries when I was hurt, someone who always knew that my favorite color was pink, someone who loved the flowers I grew. Finally Cloud, I'll never find another husband, who loved me more than you." Aerith began to tear up, as she finished. "I...I love you...Cloud Strife." Aerith finished saying as she kissed her husband on the lips one last time. As Aerith opened the door, but as she grabbed the doorknob, Cloud opened his eyes, and turned his head towards Aerith. "I...love you too...Aerith Gainsborough." said a familiar voice.


	3. Miracles Happen to Those who Believe

Aerith Gainsborough still couldn't get what she heard out of her head. "I love you too, Aerith Gainsborough." played in her head over and over again. Was this all a dream? Did Cloud just say that to her? "What? You're not even going to look at your husband anymore?" Cloud asked Aerith. Aerith closed her eyes and pinched herself to see if she was dreaming, but when she opened her eyes she knew that she wasn't dreaming, she turned and to look at Cloud, who stared and smiled at her."

"Cloud!" Aerith yelled. As the doctor, who was outside when she yelled Cloud, burst through the door to see Cloud wide awake. "Well, look who's up?" he replied as he smile. "How long was I out, doc?" Cloud asked him. "About four hours." the doctor replied. "You're lucky to be alive, Cloud. A few more minutes, then you'd be dead." "Well I'm glad that I'm not doc." Cloud replied.

The doctor went on to check Cloud's vitals. "Well, everything seem to be okay." he replied. "But we're going to keep you here for a few days, Cloud. I'd send you home today, but it's standard operating procedure." Cloud replied. "Yeah, yeah, doc I know quite well." The doctor smiled as he went to do his rounds. As he looked back at Cloud and Aerith, he smiled and shut the door behind him. Aeirth and Cloud talked the whole time about how this encounter was going to change their lives forever, but all that Cloud was looking forward to, was seeing his kids faces again.


	4. What Happened to Dexter?

Cloud was released from Shinra General Hospital four weeks later, Aerith gave a full description of her ex-boyfriend Dexter to Shinra authorities. Then in mid December, Shinra authorities apprehended Dexter trying to flee Midgar, and was taken into custody and was charged with first degree attempted murder of CLoud Strife. Dexter was bound over for trial. Dexter would be convicted on one count of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole, and he was not allowed to appeal his conviction. He is current locked up in Junon. Cloud and Aerith meanwhile are still adjusting to what happened to them over the past few months, and decided to put this whole ordeal behind and never speak of this to their kids.


End file.
